[wcbtinman]

"Can you fire a high-power .223 from a handgun?"

Actually, yes. I also have a handgun that fires the .308 round...very accurately.

[MediaMole]

While there are .223 handguns, .223 is far less effective out of shorter barrels. It needs to be around 3000fps to have the kind of effectiveness for the one-shot kills of yesterday. That usually requires a 20+ inch barrel.

Personally, I would be looking for someone with a scoped bolt action rifle or possibly an accurate ar-15 clone.